“When hate has legislated,love is an act of rebellion”
Source: Origin South African, author unknown

This school is different to other schools that I have ever known. The curriculum is somewhat hazy and is nowhere written down. I’m expected to turn up each day with a smile upon my face, my shoes polished and my laces not undone. My uniform is whatever I choose to wear that day and I cannot say that it is one that others green of eye will be wearing the very next day. So come what may, some unseen force has planned that I should stay in school until all the lessons that I need to learn are well and truly learned.

There are no classrooms in this school and the rules are made up as I go along, they come down heavily upon me even though I feel I’ve done no wrong. No text books grace the library walls however hard I look, and if I enquire about things of which I’m unsure, the advice I’m given arbitrarily is go and look it up! Through many trials I have come. So many doors shut in my face. I am sometimes told by the principal to go at my own pace. And off she walks heels clicking on the floor, with a smirk upon her face, as if to say, my goodness me, will that child never learn.

Today’s lesson is the hardest I have ever had to learn, and still I know that even though to memory I have committed it, tomorrow when I’m asked what are the basic principles of the act of letting go, my already creased brow will furrow and I will stumble as if I didn’t know. But when alone, with no pressure from those who know, I will say quietly to myself:

Forgiveness does not mean that the other person has not really done anything wrong.
Forgiveness does not mean that you have to forget.
What forgiveness means is that you choose to pardon the wrong.
Forgiveness means that your soul is free no longer chained and restrained.
Forgiveness means that you are stronger for the lesson has been learned.

The school bell tolls and I no longer ask for whom.

~ MEW 2016

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73 thoughts on “Soul Lessons”

Wow.. Marie this is an excellent lesson..And yes we the lesson learned is that we no longer need to be chained and restrained by holding onto that resentment, anger or dislike.. Learning the lesson of letting go is one of the hardest in Earth School.. ❤ xxx

I feared that was going to be the response. School is not OUT as I had hoped! ha ha ha. There’s nothing like humour to ease life’s hard lessons. OK, so off I go, skirt tucked up above my knees, pigtails coming loose, I hope it’s not maths today … LOL xXx

Haha… lol… love your attitude Marie.. Life is one continuous Play Ground. May you continually skip through life’s hurdles my friend and may you look back on these days with fond memories for the material realm of matter teaches us so much within a short span of our Blink of an eye here.. 🙂 And we will when we graduate be happy with the diploma we gained.. 😉 xxx Mega Hugs xx

Dear Sue, I hope you will be there when we throw our mortar boards up in the air and beam with delight as we celebrate our achievements earned from Earth School.
I’m happy to know that you too were in the Class of 2016! LOL Mega hugs back dear friend. xXx
ps. see how I conveniently don’t mention our birthdates – as that is when we first enrolled into Earth School. :))))

Haha.. Brilliant Big smiles Marie.. 🙂 Age! what is Age? … I am I have been assured been within many classes in Earth School throughout I am sure many histories.. Each one a valued skill was learnt..
However I feel… and I have been told.. this is to be my last visit to this particular Earth School.. So I am making sure I swat up and learn what I need to know in order that I pass my exams as I do not want to resit them here again.. 🙂 ❤ :-D..

Ahhh… those dreaded re-sits! Did enough of those in state school and that’s no where near as hard as Earth School. I think I’m doing well here, at least I hope the principal is giving me A++. I have been told I am teacher’s pet, but I overheard her telling another pupil the same thing …LOL xxx

Beautifully and poetically expressed, Marie, and it is so true that when we rest within ourselves away from discourse and the insistent inner reasoning of conscious thought, then so it is that our intuited and hard-won wisdom has more space to shine through. Can I possibly leave a few words from Khalil Gibran?

“Thus with my lips have I denounced you, while my heart, bleeding within me, called you tender names. It was love lashed by its own self that spoke. It was pride half slain that fluttered in the dust. It was my hunger for your love that raged from the housetop, while my own love, kneeling in silence, prayed your forgiveness.”

My goodness dear Hariod, it is hard to know which of these two paragraphs written with such wisdom is my favourite. Both you and Kahlil Gibran have me in tears.
So beautifully expressed I am so touched that you went to the trouble to leave me a few words from Kahlil, which I had not seen before and will remain with me for some time. Thank you so much. 🙂

I think the quote is by the poet Thabiso Mohare but I can’t be sure. I heard him say it on the radio this morning when he was talking about the “musical life of Soweto” but wasn’t sure if they were his own words or if he was quoting from someone else. So, not to attract any legal proceedings and to be on the safe side, I thought it best to regard it as anonymous. Of course if anyone knows who said it, I would be pleased to know.:)

I love that you love this Mr Barron! I can’t settle until I get your comments, SO don’t let me have to remind you again to visit. You don’t want to be responsible for this budding poet drying up, do you Mr Barron? Mr Barron, I say do you hear me ….? hahahahhah

OK Arnie (Steve), I see you’ve come out fighting, but it’s still round 1 to me, as I had to explain the joke to you … 🙂
ps. How many rounds do you think this’ll go? I have a feeling it’ll be a knockout! ha ha

Now you got me. I’ve not seen that film and so I haven’t got a witty response to that. Round 3 to you, but I may be down, but I’m not out. When I get up I’ll be floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee,,,ha ha

Thank you Lady G for your kind words. I too know that feeling of “picking it back up again”. In fact, I’ve picked it up again so often, it’s a wonder I managed to write this post. It’s a wonder it’s not called: “How to not let go: lessons in forgiveness”. LOL
Love that you love the student preparation – we’ve all been there huh? Tight to death? That image is six-foot under! hahahah
My first YAAAASSSSSS of the day! Boy that felt good! :)))))

YAAAASSSSS!
What’s up Lady M?
Girl forgiveness ain’t no joke!
LOL!
I was so tickled reading that you don’t know how you managed to write this post! LOL!!!
I love that blunt honesty of yours 🙂
You a trip!

Thank you Kathy. And yes, what a great quote for the Kwotation Princess?! 🙂 It’s funny how these things work. I had no intention of including a quote, I just happened to be listening to the radio as I was composing “Soul Lessons” and this quote jumped out at me, tugged at my sleeves and begged me to include it. I was powerless to resist. hahahah

Forgiveness does not mean that the other person has not really done anything wrong.
Forgiveness does not mean that you have to forget.
What forgiveness means is that you choose to pardon the wrong.
Forgiveness means that your soul is free no longer chained and restrained.
Forgiveness means that you are stronger for the lesson has been learned.

Amen, amen amen. I am in a postion to forgive a few people who have run swords through my heart. But isn’t it true that the Lord uses these times as doors for Him to touch their souls. We know the truth, but what the Lord wants is open hearts that wasn’t previously open.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and the Lord bless your family time.
In Christ,

Gary, such a lovely and encouraging message from you and so happy that this was so gratefully received by you. I’m sure I had Divine help writing this post.
I love what you have said and I truly hope the Lord helps you in your journey of forgiveness because it is a rocky road isn’t it? It’s not easy to forgive when you have been hurt, but once you get over that hurdle, it is so freeing for the soul.
I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving too and the Lord bless your family time aswell.
In Christ,
Marie

Wisdom! I like that you address what forgiveness is not – as too often it is likened to some form of spiritual or psychological weakness. Forgiveness is active and strong insofar as it involves taking control over one’s life. Thanks for the perspective !

I am sorry to hear that. I hope you weren’t impacted too much that it played on your mind for too long. Thank you for your very kind comments, despite the effect it had on you. I found it difficult to write myself, having found it a very hard lesson to learn.